Inside Out is Pixar’s latest creation, and it has become one of my top ten favorite Pixar movies of all time. This is a spoiler alert for those who haven’t watched the movie.
Inside Out’s story revolves around a teenage girl named Riley who moved from Minnesota to California with her parents. The movie is mostly played out in the mind of Riley and every emotion in her brain is portrayed as a character: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear.
Sadness and Joy
Everything goes wrong in Riley’s mind, including a dispute between Sadness and Joy. Throughout the first portion of the movie, Joy realized that Sadness was the odd one in the group and often found it hard to see Sadness’ place and purpose in Riley’s life.
Later in the movie, Sadness and Joy fight and are accidentally transported to a fiction portrayal of the mind where all of Riley’s memories are stored. Throughout the entire movie, we see the journey of Joy and Sadness trying to find their way home to the ‘Headquarters’ where the other emotions operate in Riley.
Slowly, as the movie progresses through many hurdles in their journey to reach the Headquarters, Sadness shows her usefulness in getting Joy out of each difficult situation. Joy realizes the need for them to work together so that Riley is able to function.
We Need Each Other
Our work on campus with students requires us to work with various campus ministries, and we need each another as each plays an important role in reaching our campus. We often forget or feel that other ministries aren’t necessary to us.
In Inside Out, we see that unity of each emotion is needed for Riley in every moment. One emotion, Joy, fulfills a certain job or role that Sadness, Anger, or Fear can not.
So as this semester moves forward, let’s realize that doing God’s work is not fully completed without the help of the other ministries.
Anthony Deng is the New York City Metro Campus Coordinator for Campus Renewal. He leads and coordinates volunteers for events such as One Cry and helps facilitate the New York City Metro Area student core team. Anthony was born and raised in New York City, graduated from CUNY the City College of New York, and has a B.A in History and Asian Studies. Anthony gives New York City tours to freshmen of various campuses. On his tour, he teaches and shows students various hidden gems of New York City. On the side, he loves to collect college sweatshirts and t-shirts. In addition, he loves to play and watch basketball and football. He an avid fan of the Pacers & Colts.
